Seeking New Markets? Join us in Lowville, NY for Baskets to Pallets

December 7, 2017/Violet Stone

2 day Training helps farmers develop new relationships with scale-appropriate wholesale buyers

Are you looking to diversify sales beyond the farmers market, CSA and farm stand? Food hubs, grocery stores, restaurants and cooperatives are looking for your products to meet growing consumer demand for local and sustainably produced food.  Yet, doing successful business with wholesale buyers requires planning and preparation.

Ensure your success by joining us for ‘Baskets to Pallets’, a comprehensive two-day introduction to selling wholesale.

January 29th and 30th
10:00am – 4:00pm
Tug Hill Vineyards, Lowville NY

The ‘Baskets to Pallets’ course is designed for farmers of all enterprises and will cover building relationships with buyers, customer management and record keeping, pricing, grading and packaging, uniformity and consistency, and food safety, among many other topics!  This fun course includes plenty of hands-on activities and opportunities for peer learning and small group discussion.  The course includes one break-out session for livestock and produce farmers. Additionally, the training includes an end-of-day

Tug Hill Vineyards

session to start crop-planning for selling to the NNY Food Hub, based out of Jefferson county CCE, during the 2018 growing season.

The training cost is $35.00, which enables 2 people per farm to attend and includes breakfast refreshments and a delicious locally sourced lunch each day. Space is limited to 40 participants and early registration is encouraged. Lodging is available at Ridge View Lodge at a discounted rate of $80-90 per night.  Reserve by January 15th!

The ‘Baskets to Pallets’ course is co-hosted by the Cornell Small Farms Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Lewis County and funded via Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE).

REGISTRATION OPEN: CLICK HERE

Training Agenda

DAY 1: Monday, January 29th

9:00am – 10:00am Arrival. Enjoy breakfast refreshments
10:00am – 10:15am Overview of the Training | Introductions Violet Stone, Cathy Moore and Melissa Spence
10:15am – 10:30am Consumer Trends and the Demand for Local Violet Stone
10:30am – 11:00am Market Channel Assessment Lindsey Pashow
11:00am – 11:30am Building Relationships with Buyers Violet Stone
11:30am – 12:00pm Perfecting the Pitch and Cold Calling Violet Stone
Noon – 1:00pm  Lunch & Socializing
1:00pm – 1:30pm  Inform Your Buyers, Build Your Brand Lindsey Pashow
1:30pm – 2:30pm  Buyer Q&A Buyer Panel TBA
2:30pm – 3:30pm The Ingredients of Good Marketing | Sell Sheets Violet Stone
3:30pm – 4:00pm Crop Planning for the Food Hub Meeting: for farmers interested
in selling to the Food Hub		 Cathy Moore

DAY 2: Tuesday, January 30th

9:00am – 10:00am Arrival. Enjoy breakfast refreshments
10:00am – 10:15am Reflecting on Day 1 and Overview of Day 2 Violet Stone
10: 15am – 10:45am Grading Liz Higgins
10:45am – Noon Uniformity, Consistency and Scheduling
BREAK OUT SESSION for Produce and Livestock		 Crystal Stewart and Betsy Hodge
Noon – 1:00pm Lunch & Socializing
1:00 – 2:00pm Farmer Stories Farmer Panel TBA
2:00pm – 2:30pm Labeling Liz Higgins
2:30pm – 3:00pm Packaging Liz Higgins
3:00pm – 3:15pm Hands On Pallet Stacking Violet Stone
3:15pm – 3:45pm Keeping Production Records & Food Safety Basics Crystal Stewart
3:45pm – 4:00pm Evaluation Violet Stone

Training Instructors

Violet Stone

Violet launched the Baskets to Pallets Project in 2014 in an effort to prepare direct-marketing farmers to successfully connect with new scale-appropriate markets.  Prior to joining the Cornell Small Farms staff  in 2007, Violet worked as a farmers market manager, local foods educator and farm direct-marketing consultant. She has a Certificate in Agroecology from the UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems.  She is also the  New York NESARE (Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education State Coordinator.

 Cathy Moore
Catherine Moore is the Agriculture, Natural Resources & Fort Drum Issue Leader at Jefferson County Cornell Cooperative Extension.  Cathy is the coordinator of the NNY Food Hub, a regional initiative to help local producers expand their production and become more competitive in the marketplace. The hub serves an area that includes Jefferson, Lewis, Oswego, and St. Lawrence counties.

Liz Higgins

As a CCE Business Management Specialist, Liz provides research and extension support to growers in ENY in farm business management, business planning and risk management and agricultural economics. She as experience as the director of the Center for Rural Development at Louisiana Tech University and most recently worked with CCE in both Ulster and Sullivan Counties as a program leader in Nutrition and Consumer Programs.

Crystal Stewart

Crystal works as an extension vegetable specialist for CCE, focusing on organic horticulture, small and beginning farmers assistance, and basic farm business management. She worked as Regional Extension Educator with the SDSU Cooperative Extension providing horticulture support, and originally joined CCE as the horticulture and agriculture educator in Fulton and Montgomery counties.

Betsy Hodge

Betsy is Regional Livestock Educator for CCE’s NNY Regional Ag Team and is also a local educator for St. Lawrence County. In this dual role, Betsy leads the NNY Livestock Team, a group of Extension Educators from across Northern New York. Betsy is a member of  Farm Bureau and the Empire Sheep Producers Association as well as a member of several advisory boards.

Lindsey Pashow

Lindsey is an Agriculture Business Development and Marketing Specialist for CCE’s Harvest NY Team that is affiliated with the Northern NY Regional Agriculture Program. She serves Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties. She has previously worked as a horticulture field technician for CCE, and she owns Adirondack View Vineyard.

 

Violet Stone

Violet is the coordinator of the Reconnecting with Purpose project, which offers farm and food system educators and change makers a retreat space to explore challenges and renew a sense of inspiration and purpose in their work and lives. She is also a collaborator on the Be Well Farming Project. This project creates reflective spaces for farmers and food producers to connect meaningfully and explore strategies that can ameliorate challenges and bolster quality of life. Violet serves as the NY SARE Coordinator and can help farmers and educators navigate NESARE grant opportunities.
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